UK jets track Russian aircraft close to country’s airspace

LONDON (Reuters) – British jets tracked a Russian aircraft flying close to the country’s airspace, the Royal Air Force said on Friday, days after the Royal Navy also detected Russian military ships passing through the English Channel.

“Our adversaries should be in no doubt of our steadfast determination and formidable ability to protect the UK,” Luke Pollard, British minister for the armed forces, said in a statement.

The Royal Navy and RAF routinely track the movements of Russian warships and jets near its waters and airspace.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) said it was the second time in three months the RAF and the Royal Navy had spotted Russian aircraft and ships within a week of each other.

Two RAF Typhoons on Thursday monitored a Russian Bear-F bomber aircraft flying over the North Sea, the MOD said. The Royal Navy shadowed two separate groups of Russian military vessels, totalling five ships, which were headed towards the Atlantic and Baltic, it said.